Russian Ground Forces

The Russian Ground Forces are the land forces of the Russian military, formed from the collapsing parts of the former Soviet Army on 7 May 1992. It took years to professionalize the remnants of the USSR's army, as Russia had a poor economy during the 1990s as a result of Mikhail Gorbachev's failed perestroika reforms and Boris Yeltsin's rapid transition to free market capitalism. The Russian Ground Forces would lose the First Chechen War as a result, as their equipment was outdated. During the late 1990s and early 2000s, the Russian military was revamped, and the Russians managed to reconquer the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria in the Second Chechen War of 1999-2004. The army also fought in a war with the Republic of Georgia in 2008, played a covert role in the Donbass War during the 2010s, and also sent advisers to assist the Syrian Arab Army during the Syrian Civil War. In 2015, the Russian Ground Forces had 230,000 personnel, not including Russian Airborne Forces.